title: Using the speech understanding in noise (SUN) test for adult hearing screening1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a novel speech-in-noise test for adult hearing screening-the Speech Understanding in Noise (SUN) test. The goal was to design a fast, automated, easy-to-use test to identify difficulties in speech communication.
  
  
  METHODS
  The SUN test consists of a short list of intervocalic consonants in noise presented in a forced-choice paradigm by means of a touch screen. The SUN test was developed and evaluated in an overall population of >6,000 participants. The test is available in various languages (i.e., English, French, German, and Italian) and continues to be developed in others (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Test time was <1 min/ear. Test-retest reliability was very good. The test showed good agreement with conventional clinical measures (e.g., pure-tone testing, speech-in-noise testing, and self-reported hearing handicap). The test's sensitivity and specificity to identify disabling hearing impairment were 84% and 75%, respectively. The same results were obtained in low and high ambient noise.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SUN test is fast, repeatable, easy to use, self-explanatory, specific to the impairment, and robust to ambient noise. It may be a viable approach for adult hearing screening in clinical as well as nonclinical settings.
authors.affiliation: CNR, Italian National Research Council, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Milan, Italy. alessia.paglialonga@polimi.it
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paglialonga
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grandori
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tognola
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001302:Audiometry, Speech / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adults; aging; hearing; screening; speech perception